


The Junior Goodwill Games

by JustHannah



Category: D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994), Mighty Ducks (1992), Mighty Ducks (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-04-21 03:29:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4813289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustHannah/pseuds/JustHannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They may be my team, but if their targeting you, I'll take them down myself."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Are You Up For Playing Again?

     I opened my eyes and stared at the sunlight shining through my window, I sat up knowing I wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep and walked over to my dresser then got dressed.  
     I sat back down on my bed, I was now going to be a Junior in high school after this summer is over but it just started.  
     I stared over at my skates that sat on the floor under my window and remembered how amazing it was to be a Duck, to not be sad, to be a part of something, I missed it so much.  
     After freshman year I started noticing that I was messed up, I never told anyone but the reason I say that is because I'm always scared even when there's no reason to be. My brother died that year, whether I like it or not it still effects me to this day.  
     I heard something outside my window and it sounded like a duck call, I opened it and looked out to see Charlie standing there.  
     "Ashley, we're back! You up for playing again?" Charlie knew something was up with me but also knew that I loved the Ducks.  
     "You know it Charlie!" I yelled and was soon down there skating to go get Jesse, we saw him playing a school yard hockey game and when he saw us he immediately stopped playing and skated with us to go get Averman who was at the mall, working.  
     After we got Averman we skated up to the dam where Connie and Guy used to hangout and they were standing there on the platform overlooking it, they were making out, it didn't really surprise me.  
     Charlie, Averman, and Jesse started laughing making Connie realize and pull away when Jesse yelled, "You guys coming or what?!"  
     "Come on!" Connie said, letting go of Guy making him hang his head and look back up at us.  
     "Really guys?" he complained but with a smile following Connie as she picked up her bag after putting on her roller blades.  
     "Sorry," Charlie chuckled and patted Guy's shoulder, "But it is worth it, right?"  
     "Dude, is that even a question? Of course its worth it," Guy replied as we skated up to Goldberg's Parents Deli where he worked.  
     "Goldberg!" we all yelled when he looked up and smiled, he ran to get his skates and we were skating to find Fulton in the alleyway where he usually was but had to check the park seeing as he wasn't there.  
     We had just skated over a fountain when I saw three guys from the Hawks team that still hated us for winning, they had these looks on they're faces.  
     "Oh, hey guys, look!" Averman exclaimed.  
     "It's Fulton!" Charlie said in excitement.  
     "And guess who he's beating up?" Goldberg murmured quietly, trying not to laugh at the "Hawks".  
     "It's about time they got a good ass kicking, they still haven't paid for what they did to Banksy," Charlie raised his eyebrows and laughed a little at the three still being thrown around.  
     "Damn straight," Goldberg was laughing his ass off at this point which made us all laugh more.  
     Fulton tied them up to a tree but took their clothes off first, leaving them in they're boxers, he held up the clothes to us and said with confidence while laughing with us, "That'll teach you not to mess with the Ducks!"  
     We all just left them there and threw they're clothes in a trash can on our way out of the park, now we were going to get Adam. As we skated up to his house he was outside practicing with his skates on and a hockey stick in hand.  
     "Hey, cake-eater,you wanna play some real hockey?" Jesse asked, you could hear the smile in his voice. Adam just looked at us and smiled then threw the stick down and skated with us.  
     I skated in the middle of Fulton and Adam after Charlie explained why Bombay was bringing us back when Adam said, "Guys, it's an international competition, us against the world."  
     "Hey, man, bring it on, we got this," Goldberg said with confidence.  
     When we saw Coach we all started shouting, "Ducks!" over and over and we all crowded around Bombay who was wearing his Ducks jacket.  
     "Welcome back Ducks! I've really missed you guys! Are you ready to fly?!" Coach was so excited and I was excited for him, for all of us.  
     "Yeah!" we all yelled in return when a limo drove up.  
     "Can't be from this neighborhood," Jesse mumbled making us chuckle.  
     A small, grey-haired man popped out of the sunroof and introduced himself, "Hey, guys! i'm Don Tibbles, Hendrix Hockey Apparel, we're your official sponsors. Anybody want a card?"  
     Half the team rushed up and took a card but I didn't see the point, Tibbles and Bombay started talking and the team just started talking aimlessly.  
     Bombay stepped out of the car and instructed us to meet up with him at our old hockey rink in our Hockey gear to meet our new teammates.


	2. Team USA

     We skated onto the ice toward Coach and Tibbles with sticks in our hands, realizing five new players on the ice in their own uniforms.  
     Fulton stood next to me with Charlie on my other side, when Coach said, "Tell me about my new kids."  
     "That's Luis Mendoza," he pointed to a skater with dark brown hair who was remotely attractive and he started skating, "He's from our Miami club a real speedster, incredible skater. I clocked him at 1.9 seconds, blue line to blue line."  
     "Good-looking skater," Connie commented.  
     "Very good-looking, what do you think Guy?" Averman asked.  
     "Shut up Averman," Guy said then elbowed him in the stomach making him fall on the ice, the whole team started laughing uncontrollably, including some of the new kids.  
     "Just one minor problem," Tibbles warned when Luis ran into the wall and fell down on the ice and continued, "He has a little trouble stopping.  
     "I'd say so," Goldberg mumbled.  
     "Are you okay?" the other new kids rushed to help him up.  
     "Yeah, I'm alright, I almost had it that time," Luis insisted after taking off his helmet.  
     "Hey, how is everyone?! You all ready to play some hockey?!" another new kid asked with a thick country accent.      
     "Hey, look its Hopalong Gretzky," Jesse chuckled.  
     "That's Dwayne Robertson from Austin, he's the best puck handler I've ever seen," Tibbles explained.  
     "You mean for his age," Bombay corrected.  
     "No, I don't," Tibbles insisted with wide eyes as Dwayne started puck handling, "He does have a tendency to be a bit of a showoff."  
     I looked over at Adam to see his reaction since he was the best puck handler on our team and his eyes were wide.    
     "What about her?" Bombay asked pointing to the girl in front of the goal with the goalie pads on, "That's Julie 'The Cat' Gaffney, She won the state championship for Maine three years in a row."   
     "Well, we have a goalie, Goldberg," Bombay replied as Goldberg skating to the other goal.  
     "Alright come on, I can do this," Goldberg said and went down trying to do the splits but ended up falling over while Gaffney was already down doing the splits perfectly.  
     "Watch this," Tibbles pointed as the rest of us Ducks lined up and shot at her, she didn't let one puck pass by her.      
     "Wow, she is good, well, we could use a back-up," Bombay responded with wide eyes.  
     "Isn't that that kid from the Olympics? The figure skater?" Coach asked with his mouth hung open.  
     "Yup, Ken Wu, what can I say? I convinced him that hockey had more of a future. We put a stick in his hands and nobody's been able to touch him," Tibbles said as Ken was swirling around in circles and twists.  
     "Wait, is that guy a teenager?" Coach pointed to the tall, some-what muscular guy with a tattoo on one shoulder who started skating around with his head phones in and pushed between Charlie and I pushing him down but not really touching me.  
     "Oh, yeah, hormones, that's Dean Portman," Tibbles said.  
     "He's an ass! My kids don't play that kinda hockey."  
     "I believe they're called enforcers, Gordon, and when you play iceland, you're gonna need him," Bombay nodded but still had an uneasy expression on his face.  
     "Who does this guy think he is?" Fulton asked, helping Adam and I pick Charlie up.  
     "That's it!" Goldberg yelled and skated to the middle of the rink where everyone had gathered and were now arguing.  
     Fulton was arguing with Portman, Goldberg was arguing with Ken and Gaffney, and Guy was arguing with Luis when Coach whistled.  
     "Everybody freeze! We didn't come here to fight, we came here to play hockey! You're team USA, you represent you're country!" Bombay shouted.  
     "That's right," Tibbles agreed.  
     "Now, i want you-" Coach started but was interrupted by Tibbles.  
     "To be all that you can be, right? You gotta raise yourself up, guys! You got-" Tibbles stopped because of Coach giving him the death stare.  
     "Alright, now, let's start with the scrimmage," Coach instructed.  
     "Great! Scrimmage! You heard your coach! Now-" Tibbles yelled after whistling again getting the death stare from Bombay, "Hey, you don't need me here, I've got an appointment anyway, I've got to see Miss MacKay, she's the team tutor."  
     "Don? Come on," Coach held his had out as Tibbles was walking away but turned around and gave Coach his whistle, "You'll get it back at the end of the school term. Alright, Ducks, show 'em what you got! Let's scrimmage!"  
     We all got in position, Jessie and Dwayne were in the center and when Coach dropped the puck Dwayne pushed Jesse down with his hockey stick and took the puck and passed it to Luis who was skating quickly toward the goal but couldn't stop.  
     "Goldberg, watch out!" Bombay shouted from the bench but before Goldberg got to do anything Luis ran into him and landed on top of him.  
     "Thanks for breaking my fall, man," Luis said.  
     "Anytime!" Goldberg said sarcastically then the two got up again.  
     Adam had the puck and was headed toward the goal but Portman pushed him making the puck get taken by Jesse who shot at the goal but it was saved by Gaffney.  
     "Haven't you been training in the off season?" I heard Coach as Averman.  
     "You know, I knew we forgot something," he replied then took his helmet off and drank a sip of water from his water bottle.  
     By that time I had taken the puck and was moving toward the other goal then passed it to Adam who shot it into the goal since Gaffney had fallen to catch it too early.  
     "Good shot, Adam, way to show 'em!" Coach yelled.  
     Portman pushed Fulton into the glass and turned around and pushed both Guy and Averman down, he was good.      
     "Ding, round one!" Goldberg said as I noticed Fulton was already up and had the puck, he stopped and was about to hit it when everyone scurried but the new guys.  
     "Look out!" Coach yelled.  
     "What a bunch of wusses," Dean murmured but when Fulton hit the puck, his eyes went wide and he scurried even faster then the rest of us but the puck hit one of the posts and was headed to where Tibbles and the person that was probably supposed to be our tutor. were standing outside the rink.   
     The puck ended up hitting Tibbles right in the forehead, we all skated over to him and out of the rink, we put a rag on his head then and icepack over it.  
     "Hello? Mr. Tibbles? Mr. Tibbles?" The woman said trying to wake him up. Coach put something up to his nose and he woke up and pushed Coaches hand away.  
     "Mr. Tibbles are you alright?" she asked.  
     "Not really," he let out and closed his eyes again.  
     "I think he'll be okay, we'll keep an eye on him. Oh, i'm sorry, he didn't have a chance to introduce us, I'm Michele MacKay, their tutor," Ms. MacKay put her hand out and Coach Bombay shook it.  
     "Hi, I'm Coach Bombay, their coach."  
     "Who said we need a tutor?" Adam asked.  
     "Really?" Fulton chipped in.  
     "I don't need no school," Dean commented.  
     "Now, Miss MacKay, we're America's team here, shouldn't we just be concentrating on hockey? May i suggest optional attendance?"  
     "I agree," Averman said.  
     "Well, that's not a bad idea," I could tell Ms. MacKay was being sarcastic.  
     "Call me Goldberg."  
     "Goldberg, yes, school will be optional," she said making everyone else get excited, "However, should you not attend, you will not be eligible to play."  
     "Damn it," I heard Guy say.  
     "Alright guys, practice is over," Coach said, dismissing us.


	3. But We're Ducks

     As soon as we got to practice and got our gear on, Coach tied all of us together when a bad smell came out of nowhere.  
     "Awe, I smell something," Guy said with a sour look on his face.  
     "Goldberg!" we all yelled simultaneously.  
     "It wasn't me!" Goldberg insisted.  
     "No, it was me!" Portman raised his arms into the air then put them back down soon after.  
     Coach whistled and said, "I don't know how to make this any clearer, you are a team and to win this thing, you have to work as one. Now as one, skate," he instructed and the whole group fell when we did what he said, "Everyone goes their own way, everyone falls down. Now get up and try it again."  
     "All right, all of you move to your right. Now," Portman demanded.  
     "Who made you boss? Everyone to the left,"  Fulton yelled and again we all fell.  
     "You guys can argue all you want...but I am not untying you until you move as one," Coach said, then we all started to get the hang of it, "Now you're learning! Communication!"  
     "You guys are starting to look like hockey players, I'm proud of ya, team, you worked hard today. But hockey should also be fun," Coach said after untying us, "Rancher Dwayne."  
     "Yes, sir!"  
     "Round me up some stray cattle there," Bombay handed Dwayne a rope.  
     "My pleasure!" Dwayne exclaimed making us all skate away.  
     The game was that if Dwayne could catch you with the rope, you had to sit on the bench and the last one to get roped would win. Dwayne got Averman, Charlie, Gaffney and so on, I do agree that it was really fun.  
     The rest of practice we just had fun and after we changed out of our gear and into our clothes we were called into the cafeteria, Tibbles had something to show us  
     On or way out of the locker room Connie kept asking Gaffney all these questions and apparently she was a straight A student and she was actually really nice.  
     When we got to the cafeteria I took my seat between Adam and Charlie who sat next to Coach, Tibbles was standing in front of a box.  
     "Now, just to make sure that everybody knows who you are...try on one of these," Tibbles pulled out a red, white, and blue long sleeve hockey jersey that read 'Fulton' on the back, "Brought to you by those wonderful people at Hendrix...for all your hockey needs, here you go Fulton."  
     "That's nice, Coach, but we're Ducks, this stuff says 'Hendrix' all over it," Charlie noted to Coach.  
     "Well, yeah, they're our sponsors, Charlie."  
     "So what? Can't we be U.S.A. Ducks? Or at least keep our own colors?" Charlie was trying pretty hard, I could tell he missed being a duck.  
     "It's business stuff, Charlie, don't worry about it."  
     "Hey, Charlie," I said getting his attention, "Would you mind picking me up tomorrow on your way to the airport?"    
     "Sure, you have been one of my best friends for years," he replied, patting my shoulder.  
    
    
     "Ancient Greece was the beginning of Western Civilization, see, in Greece, they didn't have professional sports...  
or trophies, so the athletes competed for another reason," We were outside beside the lake in the park being taught by Ms. MacKay.  
     "Falafels?" Goldberg asked, making everyone chuckle.  
     "Charlie?" Ms. MacKay called on Adam who was raising his hand next to me.        
     "Pride," he answered.  
     "That's right, the various city-states waved their flags and wore their home colors proudly."  
     "Did America always dominate?" Fulton asked making everyone shake they're head and chuckle.  
     "Hey, that's a good question," Dean defended Fulton, they've become pretty good friends, they were a lot alike so it made a lot of sense.  
     "Don't forget that compared to other countries...America is still young, still forming its own identity," Ms. MacKay replied, "But always right there on the verge of greatness."  
     After we were done, we got our skated on and skated around with Coach driving a golf cart guiding us down the roads.  
     Tomorrow is the day we leave for LA, the only way I could describe how to feel about it was nervous.


	4. First Game In LA

      I woke up to my alarm and immediately finished packing and change from my pajamas into my clothes for the flight. I pulled my suitcase and my duffel bag with all my gear in it and went downstairs, I texted Charlie and asked when he was coming to pick me up.  
     '5 minutes Avermans here too' he texted back.  
     'This is gonna be entertaining' I replied.  
     It wasn't long before I heard a car honking in front of my house, I picked up my bag and pulled up the handle of my suitcase, pulling it outside. Averman got out of the car and ran up to me taking the suitcase from me, "Hey ya Ashley!"  
     "What do you want?" I chuckled.  
     "You know I get really nice and talk really fast when I'm nervous, yeah that's happening right now," he explained as Ms. Conway got out of the drivers seat and opened the trunk, putting in my stuff.  
     "Thank you Ms. Conway," I said before she gave me a hug.  
     "Anytime, Ashley," she smiled then opened the door for me and got in the car herself, I sat on the right side behind Charlie with Averman behind the drivers seat.  
     It took us a while to get to the airport and through customs but it was worth it, the flight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  
     "Thank the gods we're finally here!" I heard Goldberg say to Averman as we walked out of the baggage claim, my neck hurt from the flight but I didn't really mind.  
     We drove to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, it sucked that we had to play a game the day we got here, we'll get through it.  
     We got dressed in our gear and stretched, we got out on the ice and started practicing shooting at Goldberg who was for the most part doing pretty well. We were playing Trinidad Tobago, we were leading six to one and Connie had just scored making it seven to one making the buzzer go off.  
     I saw some guy trash talking to Jesse making him annoyed yelling back at him but Coach stopped him and told him to get out on the ice. He got the puck and was getting close to the goal when a guy from the other team checked him before he got the chance, he got up and went for the guy that checked him getting Jesse two minutes in the penalty box, I noticed the guy that was trash talking to him making fun of Jesse again but ran away soon after.  
     I was on the bench next to Fulton when both him and Portman put their bandanas on and got out on the ice replacing Dwayne and Guy.  
     As soon as they got out there they bashed three guys letting Portman score then taking bows, their names had become the bash brothers which I thought fit perfectly.  
     Trinidad got the puck and faked Adam out skating down towards the goal and scoring, to say they celebrated is an understatement.  
     Connie got the puck in the Trinidad zone and passed it to Ken who ducked between a guy on the other teams legs behind the goal and came around the side getting us another point.  
     The buzzer to end the game making us win nine to two, we all jumped out on the ice and celebrated the win when Bombay yelled, "That wasn't a game, that was a statement!"  
     We went back to the locker room and showered then got dressed then were showed to our dorm rooms that we were staying in, since the boys and girls had to be separated, they only had two beds a room for the girls which made me have a room to myself.  
     After I set my stuff up I went straight to bed, being exhausted from the flight.


	5. Gunnar

     "Ashley!" Connie started pounding on my door making me open my eyes.  
     "Yeah?" was my reply as I rubbed my eyes.  
     "We have a press conference in a half hour, get ready, I'll wait out here," she explained as I went over to my suitcase and got dressed as quickly as I could.  
     We walked to the lobby where the rest of the ducks were and we walked to where the press conference was being held.  
     "Ladies and gentlemen, Team U.S.A. hockey and the man chosen to lead them to the gold, Gordon Bombay, okay, we're gonna open it up to questions. Yes?" Tibbles introduced us and called on the first reporter's hand that flew up.  
     "Team U.S.A., how does it feel competing on the international level here in Los Angeles?" she asked with a recorder in hand.  
     "Feels good, we love it," Charlie said into on of the many microphones in front of us.  
     "Coach Bombay, the Vikings from Iceland are the heavy favorite. Their coach has already guaranteed victory. How are you gonna handle them?" the second reporter wondered when I noticed a team dressed in black step up in the back and peeking behind what looked like the coach's shoulder was him...Gunnar Stahl who held a sad but blank expression, my heart dropped completely.  
     "Um...hard work, I think our team is ready to go up against the best in the world. We're not worried about them. Iceland may be tough, but, uh...we're Team USA and we're going all the way," I heard Bombay answer but kept staring at Gunnar who looked up at me.  
     "Team USA's going down, that's where you're going," the Vikings Coach said making me look down then over at Bombay, still feeling Gunnar's eyes on me, "See you on the ice Bombay."  
     "That's Stansson, the coach of the Iceland team, he's wound pretty tight," Tibbles said.  
     "Stansson from the NHL? Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson is coaching? You didn't tell me that," I could tell Coach was worried and I didn't blame him, Stansson was so violent that he got thrown out of the NHL, he scared me to death honestly.  
     "That guys a dentist?" Ken asked as security rushed up to talk to Stansson.  
     "That was his nickname, he played one year in the NHL, collected more teeth then goals," I explained and his eyes went wide.  
     "He even punched out his own coach," Charlie added.  
     "I heard they ran him out of the league and the country," Gaffney commented.  
     "What happened to freedom of speech, huh? Isn't this America?" I heard Stansson complain.  
     "That's his team? They're huge!" Ken exclaimed looking the Vikings up and down.  
     "Yeah, they are," I murmured looking over at Gunnar who was being pulled away by Stansson forcefully like he wanted to stay but he was gone before I could say a word to him.  
     We had a lesson with Ms. MacKay and had practice for our game tomorrow.  
 

     We were leading Italy six to nothing, I was skating out on the ice around Goldberg since he had just saved a shot from Italy and was now smart talking to one of the players who was about to fight him when I stepped in and broke it up.  
     I skated to the center when Fulton passed me the puck and Portman checked someone who was about to check me, I went straight for the goal and scored for the first time here in LA.  
     We ended up winning eleven to zero by the end of the game making Coach really proud. He went back to the place he was staying leaving us there to shower and change.  
     I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked back to my room and threw it on the ground, I sat down on my bed when there was a knock on my door. I got up and opened the door to see Gunnar standing there, "Can we talk?"


	6. Be Careful

   His accent was still thick and his eyes were still the perfect blue that I remember, I hadn't answered making him say, "Please?"  
   I nodded and stepped aside letting him walk through the door. Gunnar lived in America for a couple years which is why he knows how to speak English so well, coincidentally in Minnesota. He was my brothers best friend until two years later he had to go back to Iceland, my brother died a month after he left. He knew my brother because he was on his hockey team.  
   Gunnar was my best friend too, but in a much different way, when things got bad, when I was at my worst before my brother died he was there to take the anxiety away, he was always there.  
   I closed the door and turned around to see him staring at me when he stepped closer to me, "Did you know I was going to be here?" I asked quietly, it was almost a whisper.  
   "No, but I hoped," he took another step closer to me, "I'm so sorry."  
   "Why?"  
   "You know why," he held a sad look in his eyes and was now less then a foot away from me.  
   "No need to apologize, it's not your fault," I kept my expression as blank as possible and my tone light as I looked into his eyes for what felt like the first time.  
   "It doesn't have to be my fault for me to be sorry."   
   I turned away and rubbed my eyes, I didn't know how to feel about seeing him again. I instantly felt happy but so much about me has changed, I was contemplating whether it was best for him to stay away from me.  
   As I went through each situation in my head I sat down on my bed with my hands clutched together in my lap, I had the sudden urge to ask, "When did you find out about Ben?"  
   "A few days after it happened, one of the guys from our team told me, I wanted to be there, for him and for you," I met his eyes again as he sat on the bed opposite from me.  
   I remembered yesterday and debated whether I should ask but did anyway, "Why was your coach like that yesterday?"  
   He grew quiet and his face turned blank, something told me this would be a long story, "He's not like Bombay, he's more for physical punishment, if we make one mistake he goes ballistic..."  
   "What do you mean? He's hit you before?" my eyes were wide, I felt my heart start to race and drop inside my chest.  
   "Sometimes," he met my eyes, "Because I'm his star player and if we don't win he takes it out on me."  
   "How could he do that to you?" I couldn't understand, Gunnar was the nicest person I've ever met, hearing him tell me this felt like a punch to the stomach, so much of me still cared about him.  
   "Watch out tomorrow, he's been watching you...your practices, your old game tapes, he knows your technique...we're supposed to be checking all of you the whole time," he moved closer letting me stare into his blue eyes, "I'll try my best to protect you...just be careful, okay?"  
   "Thank you," my voice trailed off as I stared at him, he was searching my eyes for something and when I looked down, I felt his stare burning into me.   
   I was so conflicted about what I was supposed to do but I couldn't seem to figure out what the best thing for him was, all I knew now was that I couldn't hold this in much longer.  
   I finally looked up at him and admitted with a soft voice, "I missed you."  
   "What?" his eyes widened, I was never one to truly admit my feelings and this most likely surprised him.  
   I just nodded and covered my face with my hands, "I'm sorry."  
   I felt warm fingers cover one of my hands and pull it down from my face, he held my hand tightly in his making my heart race in the process, "You don't need to apologize for voicing your feelings."  
   I shook my head and removed my other hand from my face, I knew I didn't have to hide from him but I myself was still contemplating what to do, it was between my head and my heart and my heart kept betraying what was best for him. I wasn't good enough and he deserved so much better then me, but he was here squeezing my hand and making my head spin just by looking at me.  
   I saw his eyes meet the clock on the table beside my bed and felt him squeeze my hand one final time and let go, placing it softly on my knee.  
   "I'm sorry I have to leave so soon...but we have practice tonight and Stansson won't like it if I'm late. I'm sorry," I followed him as he stood and walked toward the door, his voice sounded disappointed.  
   "No, it's okay, I don't want you to get in trouble," I felt pain in my stomach again from remembering what Gunnar had said about Stansson, I was instantly anxious for him but that was suddenly replaced with confusion, "Didn't you have a game today...?"  
   "Yes...Stansson is a fan of over-working us," he was just less then a foot away from me and I found it difficult to keep his gaze, I felt badly for him, he was probably so tired already.  
   "I'm so-" before I could finish Gunnar shook his head furiously as he looked down at the carpet below us and interrupted, "Some things never change," he was referring to the fact that I always used to apologize a lot, I had to agree that I did and it was a problem I was trying to fix but couldn't really figure out how.  
   He looked up at me once again and I saw the same contemplating look in his eyes that I was wearing earlier in my own, as soon as I saw his arms rise the smallest bit I stepped closer and felt his arms tightly wrap around my torso, hugging me to him. My arms were around his shoulders, holding him as close as possible.  
   "Please be careful tomorrow," I heard his muffled plea and nodded against his shoulder.  
   Our arms released each other at the same moment but as he stepped back, his hand touched my cheek, "Goodnight, Ash," I was so taken aback by his soft touch on my face that I couldn't speak.  
   His hand dropped leaving a strange sensation on my face, I had to keep myself from shivering from the loss of contact.    
   As he opened the door and stepped out into the hall I was able to get out, "Good luck tonight."  
   He turned and looked back at me with a small smile, "Good luck tomorrow. Sleep well, okay?"  
   I nodded and watched him walk down the hall, feeling my heart weaken as he went.

 


End file.
